1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to starters in which a pinion gear is brought into mesh with a ring gear of an engine via a shift lever to start the engine.
More particularly, the invention relates to a starter that has a fulcrum supporter to support a fulcrum portion of a shift lever during pivotal movement of the shift lever to bring a pinion gear into mesh with a ring gear of an engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent First Publication No. H05-263738, an English equivalent of which is U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,009, discloses a starter in which a shift lever is driven by a solenoid switch to bring a pinion gear into mesh with a ring gear of an engine.
According to the disclosure, the shift lever has a fulcrum portion as the center of pivotal movement of the shift lever to bring the pinion gear into mesh with the ring gear. The fulcrum portion is disposed inside a recess formed in a housing of the starter and supported by a rubber caulk, which is fitted to an opening of the recess, during the pivotal movement of the shift lever.
However, in the above starter, the rubber caulk is provided in the form of an independent component of the starter and used only for the purpose of supporting the fulcrum portion of the shift level. Consequently, both the parts count of the starter and the man-hour requirement for assembly of the starter are increased.
Further, since the rubber caulk is in the form of an independent component, it is necessary to firmly support or secure the rubber caulk so as to prevent it from dropping out during operation of the starter. This will further increase the man-hour requirement for assembly of the starter, thus lowering the productivity of the starter.
Furthermore, in the above starter, the shift lever has a first end linked to a plunger of the solenoid switch and a second end linked to the pinion gear, so that a movement of the plunger causes, via the first end, the second end to pivot on the fulcrum portion, thereby bringing the pinion gear into mesh with the ring gear of the engine. During the pivotal movement of the second end on the fulcrum portion, the rubber caulk, which functions as a fulcrum supporter, is compressed and deformed, resulting in a deviation in the position of the fulcrum portion. This deviation will cause a deviation in closing time of main contacts of the solenoid switch, thereby degrading the meshing performance of the pinion gear with the ring gear of the engine.